| Architect: John F. Green, a pioneer engineer in the
field of concrete bridges who also designed the Louise
and Mission bridges.
Contractor:
City project using day
labour.
Craftsmen:
The four concrete lions,
emblems, shields and buffalo heads on the Centre Street
Bridge were designed by Scottish stone mason James L.
Thompson who came to Calgary in 1910. He worked as a
labourer for the City and as a hobby, carved a lion for
his garden at 2109 Centre Street North. The bridge lions,
modelled after those at the base of Admiral Nelson's
Monument in Trafalgar Square, London, were cast on the
construction site, hoisted and cemented into place.
Original
cost: $375,000
Original
owner: City
of Calgary (1916)
Construction materials:
Upper bridge -
reinforced concrete. Lower bridge - steel and concrete.
Architectural style:
Upper bridge - arch
superstructure. Lower bridge - "I" girders
superstructure.
Original detail:
Reposing lions and
concrete turrets. Four spans. Upper bridge is 583 feet
long and 48 feet wide. Lower bridge is 480 feet long and
18 feet long.
Historical highlights:
- First crossing at
Centre Street was Fogg's Ferry in 1882.
- A.J.McArthur, who
owned and subdivided Crescent Heights in 1906,
formed a private company called the Centre Street
Bridge Company Limited and sold shares to
speculators and land holders on the North Hill.
Lots were sold with a promise of a bridge
connecting the new community to the downtown. The
company built a $17,000 steel truss bridge with
wooden approaches across the Bow River.
- Following the
city's annexation of Crescent Heights in 1908 the
bridge company built a steep road from the bridge
to the top of the hill and the city installed
stairs for pedestrians.
- Between 1908 and
1912 the bridge company and the city waged a
battle over who was responsible for upkeep and
repair of the bridge, which was by this time
quite heavily used by residents of Crescent
Heights, Mount Pleasant, Rosedale, construction
workers hauling gravel to build downtown
sidewalks and contractors dumping clay from
downtown excavations at the base of the North
Hill. The heavy traffic quickly wore holes in the
planking.
- In April 1911
bridge owners put in a toll gate to recoup
maintenance costs, a move which angered city
officials and local residents. The toll was
eventually abandoned but the bridge remained
closed to heavy traffic. Crescent Heights
promoters offered to sell the bridge to the city
for $17,0000 but council refused to pay even
$5,000.
- By 1912, the
problem was resolved and the City bought the old
Centre Street Bridge for $1300.00.
- Construction on a
new bridge began in April 1915 and was completed
by year end 1916.
- The lower deck was
first designed as a pedestrian bridge only and
converted for traffic half way through
construction.
- The remains of the
old bridge were sold to the provincial Department
of Highways in 1917 for $1,500.
- October 1971 -
$200,000 repair to foundation and reinforcement
of the arches on the southern span.
- By 1973 more than
32,000 motor vehicles crossed the bridge daily.
- In 1974 the city
installed a $220,000 temporary one-lane Bailey
bridge across the Bow River for the duration of a
$2 million renovation which closed Centre Street
bridge between April and September. The temporary
structure was for pedestrian, bus, taxi and
emergency use only.
- Upgrading included
installation of automatic lane lights to permit
maximum traffic flow at rush hours, new surfaces
on upper and lower decks and a three foot
concrete barrier between pedestrian and
automobile traffic.
- The bridge was
officially re-opened September 30, 1974 by Mayor
Rod Sykes and Highways Minister Clarence
Copithorne.
- The story of Centre
Street Bridge appears in Hugh Dempsey's book Calgary:
Spirit of the West. For more information
about Calgary bridges consult R.A. Welin's The
Bridges of Calgary 1882 - 1977.
|
Centre Street Bridge